Chapter 74: Was I caught?

How much time had passed?

With a dizzying feeling, I barely managed to open my eyes and started getting ready to head out.

I had to go to Seolhwa’s studio, after all.

‘Even if I’m not in a hurry, there’s no harm in preparing now.’

Lately, I had been consciously trying to go outside at least once a day.

I didn’t like the habit of never leaving the house unless something specific was happening.

After getting ready in a hurry, I checked my phone.

A message from Seolhwa appeared.

[Seolhwa: I’ll give you the studio password.]

[Seolhwa: If you’re bored, feel free to come over first.]

[Seolhwa: By the way, I’ll mostly be at the studio unless something comes up.]

“Hmm.”

At this point, it seemed fine to head over to the studio.

If she was being that specific, it meant she’d be at the studio most of the time, except for on certain days.

I was relieved, as I might’ve been in trouble if she had said today wasn’t a good time.

Feeling thankful, I got dressed and headed straight for the studio.

“Huff…”

It wasn’t even that late yet, so maybe that’s why the air felt chilly.

The wind was cold, I guess.

‘I should’ve just worn a padded jacket.’

Since spring was almost here, I’d only put on a simple hoodie, but now I regretted it, shivering as I arrived at the studio.

“No one’s here.”

It wasn’t a space used by just one person, so I had expected that others might be there working as well.

Thinking it was strange, I entered the studio using the password Seolhwa had given me.

‘…It’s dark.’

It must have been the time of day, so I figured there was no one left.

I opened the studio door and turned on the lights.

Creeeak-

As soon as I opened the door and turned on the light.

“Wow, you scared me.”

I could see Seolhwa lying on the sofa in the studio, as if she had fainted.

Since the lights were off, I had assumed she had gone home, but here she was, sleeping.

I felt a bit surprised, but I decided to sit in the remaining chair.

There was no need to wake up Seolhwa, who was sleeping so soundly.

‘…I guess I should sleep for a bit too.’

The chair wasn’t too hard, and it was actually quite soft, so it was perfect for a quick nap.

I could sleep for a while and then wake Seolhwa up later.

With that thought, I turned off the lights and closed my eyes in the chair.

“Ugh…”

I felt a bit stiff as I woke up and opened my eyes.

Soft music was playing in the background, and at the same time, the smell of coffee filled the air.

In a bit of a daze, I tried to figure out what was going on when I heard a voice.

“Ah, you’re awake?”

Seolhwa said, handing me a cup of coffee.

It seemed like she had been awake for a while.

“Thanks.”

I thanked her simply, took the coffee, and stood up to shake off the remnants of sleep.

The chair had been so comfortable that I feared if I sat back down, I would just fall asleep again.

“By the way, when did you arrive? I didn’t think you’d come so early.”

“I just came right after finishing work.”

It was true.

After finishing the stream, I had taken a quick nap and then headed straight to the studio.

“Wow… thanks.”

“It’s fine, I didn’t really have anything else to do.”

With that response, we started talking about music.

The real reason I came to the studio at this late hour was to talk about music.

“So, why did you call me? That’s what I’m most curious about.”

I figured Seolhwa wouldn’t call me here for no reason, so I had come, but I was curious about what exactly the purpose of the meeting was.

She wasn’t planning to work on another album, was she?

“Ah, it’s not about anything else, but the concert is coming up.”

“Yeah.”

“So, you should sing along with me there. I think it would be good if we practiced together.”

“Uhm…”

I had jokingly accepted the invitation to be a special guest at the concert last time, but I didn’t expect her to take it seriously.

I felt a bit caught off guard.

‘I’m not exactly great at singing, though.’

Of course, it sounded like I was a great singer in Seolhwa’s album.

There had been a lot of post-production work done.

Some tuning and adjustments had been made.

But there was a huge difference between sounding good on a track and performing live.

“…If I go out as a special guest, won’t people be disappointed? I’m not really famous.”

I was basically an ordinary person.

Sure, I had become a little well-known in the broadcasting world, but no one knew my face.

Seolhwa, with a confident look on her face, replied.

“No, actually, if you come out with that face, no one will be disappointed. You’ll create a mysterious vibe, and that’s even better.”

“…Is that so?”

“Yep.”

Her voice and expression were filled with so much certainty.

How sure was she to say something like that?

“Then I’ll try to practice as much as I can.”

“Ah, I’ll prepare right away.”

Since it was Seolhwa, who was speaking with such conviction, I figured I could at least try practicing.

After all, the time for broadcasting would eventually get shorter.

I could practice singing in the meantime.

With that thought, I entered the booth and started practicing, following Seolhwa’s instructions.

How much time passed?

“Ah, it’s the start of the semester.”

Finally, the day of the semester had arrived.

The day when I had to go back to school.

The day I had to move around and deal with all the hassle.

Sigh…

Even though I sighed, I still diligently got dressed and headed out.

It was still a bit chilly outside.

It felt like winter had lasted a bit longer this year, I thought, as I walked.

“So, I told you, my course registration got messed up. Suddenly, the cat jumped up and started pressing random keys on my keyboard.”

“Hmm, that sounds like an excuse.”

“It’s true, you idiot.”

“Hmm.”

Finally, I arrived at school.

‘…Maybe I should’ve just taken a leave of absence.’

I thought to myself, deeply regretting it as I entered the classroom according to my schedule.

But then.

“Ah, senior.”

I saw a familiar face.

It seemed like we were in the same lecture, probably because it was a required course.

“Hey, what’s up? You’re taking this class too?”

“Of course, it’s a required course.”

“Is that so? I just mindlessly clicked through the registration and didn’t even realize.”

“You’ll regret it later if you don’t pay attention.”

“Eh, I’ll manage to get the credits.”

I wasn’t worried about not earning the credits.

While I said I was mindlessly clicking through the registration, I was actually just following the course listings exactly as they were.

Yawn.

We exchanged some brief conversation about what had been going on.

“So, how’s the streaming going? You won’t have much time once classes start.”
“I’m worried about it too… but I think I’ll still have time for streaming. I won’t be able to stream as long as I did during break, though.”

It seemed like Ryu Arim was having similar thoughts.

I’d probably manage to squeeze in some time for streaming, no matter what.

Just then.

Cough, cough.

The professor entered, and the lecture officially started.

[The broadcast has started!]

[+HurryAndLeave: ᄒᄋᄒᄋ]

[Did classes start today?]

[Pepe: I think classes did start.]

[If classes hadn’t started, you would’ve streamed earlier.]

[ᄅᄋᄏᄏ]

Once I started the stream, the usual chat messages came flooding in.

It was clear that streaming had become a lot more comfortable than before.

To be exact, now it felt like I needed to stream to feel at ease.

“Ah, hey everyone. As I mentioned before, classes have started today, so I’m a bit tired. I hope you all understand.”

[+HurryAndLeave: Why not just cancel class yourself? (I really don’t know)]

[If you cancel your own class, your grades will fall automatically, haha.]

[Skipping class is a bad idea, haha.]

[Pepe: Grades are important though…]

[You have to take care of your grades.]

[ᄋᄋ has donated 1,000 won!]

I don’t get it.

Since I couldn’t control it, the viewers would have to understand.

“If you don’t get it, well, there’s nothing I can do. You can leave if you don’t like it.”

There was no need to waste time on people like that.

They were probably just here to stir things up anyway.

[+HurryAndLeave: “Cut.”]

[Immediately blocked, haha.]

[Who’s talking here?]

[Pepe: This is what a manager does ᄋᄋ;]

[For sure, the manager’s level is on a whole different level.]

[Manager]

[You should block people like that right away.]

[Why are they donating and getting banned?]

[Paid bans are always worth it, haha.]

After saying that, I casually opened up the café.

Since I had already spent some time outside today, I wasn’t really in the mood to dive into a game right away.

“I’ll check out the café for a bit, and if I’m feeling up to it, I’ll play a game.”

Though I said that, I didn’t feel like playing.

I was a bit mentally tired, after all.

Just as I was thinking about exploring the café.

[Is Yotte featuring on Rage’s album?]

A post with a pretty provocative title had just appeared in the café.